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B. Bernasconi (10', 50'), L. Marin (33')
Tries
C. Prendergast (4'), S. O'Brien (15'), C. Frawley (36', 76')
J. Umaga (34', 51')
Conversions
S. Gilbert (37')
This was a test of nerve and habits. Connacht, smarting from a messy opener, arrived in Treviso with a plan to simplify, lean on their spine and take the last 10 seriously. They did exactly that. Benetton, for the second straight week at Monigo, started with intent, squeezed territory and won plenty of ball. And again, they couldn’t sustain it long enough to close.
The away side’s edge came from clarity more than dominance. Their scrum was second best and their discipline frayed, but they trusted a perfect lineout, defended with bite in their 22 and stayed patient when the game tightened. It’s not glossy, but in a league decided by one-score margins away from home, those choices matter.
Look at how it turned. Hollie Davidson sent Finlay Bealham to the bin just before half-time, a moment that could have tilted the whole night given Benetton’s maul was already purring. Instead, Connacht struck through Ciaran Frawley before the hooter and absorbed the disruption without hemorrhaging points. When Benetton surged after the break and edged in front via a second Bautista Bernasconi finish, Connacht didn’t chase the game or force width; they kicked their exits, trusted their defence and waited for the one clean shot they could finish. It came on 76 minutes, Frawley ghosting through after a clean set-piece and a composed sequence with fresh legs on the park. That’s game management, not luck.
Benetton will feel this slipped. Their set-piece gave them a platform — lineout ball was largely reliable and the maul twice did damage — and they had far more of the ball. But once ahead at 19-17, they couldn’t control the next 20. The tackle integrity that framed their best passages softened, the handling loosened, and their key decision-makers were forced to play deeper in their own half. The pattern from Round 1 reappeared: good tempo early, less accuracy and bite when the legs got heavy.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The numbers back up the story. Benetton won the possession and carrying counts, and their scrum was spotless. Connacht conceded a stack of penalties and were down a tighthead for ten minutes. Yet Benetton’s missed tackles spiked and their turnovers crept up in the final quarter, exactly when Connacht’s lineout stayed at 100% and their scramble defence stayed organised. That’s the contrast.
Individuals mattered to how it broke. Cian Prendergast set the tone early with a captain’s try and 12 tackles, then kept steering the pack out of bother in the last 10. Behind him, Sean Jansen did the hard, unfussy work — 15 carries and 14 tackles — that let Connacht stabilise after momentum swings, while Josh Murphy quietly hit 13 tackles. Frawley was the difference on the scoreboard with two tries, but his value was broader: double-figure tackles at 10 and a calm last-play mindset when the space finally appeared. Off the bench, Eoin de Buitlear brought tidy throws and a clean touch in the sequence for the winner; small contributions, big timing. Out the back, Sam Gilbert covered acres, picked smart moments to run and added the lone conversion Connacht landed on a night when chances to kick were scarce.
Benetton’s best pieces were what you’d expect: Michele Lamaro driving standards on both sides of the ball, Leonardo Marin adding punch and a try from midfield, and Matt Gallagher offering range on kick return. Jacob Umaga connected their good moments with two conversions and took the ball to the line with intent, but as the hour mark passed he was playing under heavier pressure and flatter options dried up. The maul, with Bernasconi finishing twice, stayed their clearest route, yet when the game state demanded a bit of field-position pragmatism and error-free sets, they coughed up ball. Three turnovers for Louis Lynagh told part of that tale out wide.
Does the margin flatter Connacht? No. They didn’t dominate, but they earned the right to steal it late by surviving their own worst patches — a wobbly scrum, 14 penalties, a yellow — and by being ruthless with their single red-zone look in the last five minutes. Benetton had enough ball to win twice, but the defensive drop and decision-making after the hour undermined them again.
What next? For Connacht, this is a bankable away arm-wrestle that steadies the start of their season after the Stormers loss. The work-ons are obvious: sort the scrum, tidy the penalty count, and don’t rely on last-gasp precision every week. But the composure they showed in Treviso — trusting a seasoned spine in tight moments — is something they can carry. For Benetton, the theme is now a problem, not a coincidence. The start is good, the maul is a weapon, and there’s enough in the backs to stress teams. But until they keep their defensive edge and retain accuracy past 60, home nights like this will keep slipping to sides who are simply calmer when it matters.
